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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25987990">Sin With a Grin</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/l_ares/pseuds/l_ares'>l_ares</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Walk on Water (Manhwa)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Chinatown, Crimes &amp; Criminals, Drugs, Gangs, Gun Violence, M/M, Marijuana, Medical Debt, Organized Crime, Porn, Realistic, Recreational Drug Use, porn industry</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 12:20:42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,091</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25987990</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/l_ares/pseuds/l_ares</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Walk on Water but with realistic depiction of gangs, porn, crime, and America, generally.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Chang Liu/Park Yeowoon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Lick</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>The anarcho-criminologist in me cannot let this go.</p>
    </blockquote><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ed and Chang watch movies, Chang heads to work. Ed's hitting on Chang, kind of.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ed slurped at the icy concoction of fructose and acid blue #9 as sweat dripped down his cheek, onto his jaw, and down his neck. He was squeezed onto a loveseat that was hardly big enough to support his 5 foot 10 frame and the muggy New York summer stifled the small room with 100 degrees of ambient heat, 72% humidity, and the body heat of two young men huddled closely in front of a small tv. </p><p>“Ugh <em> hyung, </em>” Ed wiped the sweat dripping down his neck. “I’m going to take a shower, you take too long to pick what to watch.” </p><p>Chang wasn’t listening. He wasn’t sure what to watch next. He considered continuing with Wong Kar-Wai since he’d just finished <em> Ashes of Time, </em>but the mood wasn’t quite right and a vague sense of discomfort pulled him towards some other movie. </p><p>He peered over his collection of movies – a mix of things he’d rented from Blockbuster and never returned before their bankruptcy and pirated flicks from the shop downstairs and around the corner. </p><p>It took him about five more minutes to decide what he was watching and Ed walked out of the shower just as he put his chosen DVD into the player. He was sure he could find these movies online if he looked, but it was troublesome to hunt down foreign titles and he was a bit of a creature of habit.</p><p>Walking back over to the couch, a boxer-brief clad Ed dripped shower water across the carpet in his wake. Chang grimaced as the still wet Ed plopped himself into the fabric couch and went back to sipping his blueberry razzmatazz slurpee. </p><p>“That’s disgusting.” </p><p>Ed cocked his head at Chang, aware that he was referring to the wet mess he’d soaked into the couch. </p><p>“But it stays cooler that way.”</p><p>“If you like rolling around in <em> mold</em>.” </p><p>Chang scowled as he made his way across the carpet where he sat against the foot of the couch, turning his attention to the opening credits of the movie that had just started rolling. </p><p>Ed watched Chang as he focused intently on the movie. Sweat was beading at the base of his neck, soaking slowly into his black Hanes t-shirt. The smell of Chang’s sweat radiated slightly off of his body and Ed wondered what it tasted like. </p><p>As he slurped more of his drink, he decided he’d find out. </p><p>
  <em> Lick. </em>
</p><p>His tongue licked the back of Chang’s neck lightly, as Chang jolted with a start. </p><p>“What the fuck?” He turned to look at Ed who grinned at him stupidly. </p><p>“I wanted to know if it would be salty.” </p><p>“The fuck?” He turned back around to his movie. </p><p>Ed rolled off the couch and into Chang’s lap. His head rested lightly on Chang’s thigh as the rest of his body protruded off to the side. </p><p>“It’s hot.” Chang didn’t bother looking away from the movie. </p><p>“Is it okay if I smoke?” </p><p>“No.” </p><p>Ed pulled a softly rolled joint out of his pocket, rolling the ends slightly in a bid to tighten it before lighting it with a cheap blue lighter. </p><p>A pungent grassy smell mingled with the damp mustiness of molded old carpet and worn down sofa. </p><p>“Fuck.” </p><p>Chang hated smoke and specifically that Ed smoked, but a slow calm came over him as the second-hand smoke lifted him gently to a comfortable contact high. His mind drifted back to the scenes in the movie, the colors slightly more vibrant and the pain that usually radiated from his shoulder blade and down into his back softening to a slight tingle. </p><p>Ed nuzzled against Chang’s leg, turning himself to focus on the television, the uncomfortable heat of hot summer day seeping his sweat into the fabric of Chang’s jeans. He giggled slightly at the movie flickering nonsensically in front of him before drifting slowly off to sleep. </p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Chang woke a few hours later, his mind uncharacteristically clear from the intrusive thoughts that plagued him from day to day. He would never smoke himself. He hated it, irrationally. But he couldn’t hate the clearheadedness Ed’s second-hand smoke afforded him from time to time. </p><p>He needed to get up for a late night meeting with Cho, but for now, the evening had cooled the room and driven back the disgusting amalgamation of cheap summer stenches. The weight of Ed’s head on his thigh had put his leg to sleep. He cradled Ed for a second before attempting to adjust himself. Sharp nerve pain rang down his thigh and into his toes. </p><p><em> Fuck. </em> </p><p>He pushed himself up with his arms, propping Ed against his side before picking him up and carrying him to the bedroom. He tossed Ed onto the sheets of his bed before making his way to the bathroom. He brushed his teeth, washed his face, and combed back his hair. He couldn’t focus when his hair was in his face and changing into a crisp suit shifted his headspace to business. </p><p>A few minutes later, he was headed into Manhattan to meet with Cho.</p><p>He thought over how things were going. Small loans here and there, paid back at an interest rate of 1 or 2 points made up the smallest part of his business. Gamblers bet big money, celebrated with alcohol and prostitutes, and the house always won between losers, interest, and drugs. </p><p>He made his way past the whorehouses, where teenage boys with guns used to post up on corners, their presence a silent warning to rival gangs and organizations to stay away from the businesses they simultaneously extorted and protected. </p><p>Chang scowled at the street as he drove by. This kind of activity had dropped significantly since 9/11. The resulting government meltdown had led authorities to clamp down on anything they deemed to be terrorist or criminal and the streets had become significantly less fraught over the years, with strong RICO prosecutions causing most gang activity to fade into the background somewhere between 2009 and 2011. </p><p>He considered himself lucky to be generally distanced from that life. Cho was his cousin’s husband and the family treatment had let him avoid the street route up. Most of the kids in the gangs joined around age 11 or 12 and ended up in and out of juvenile hall until they became adults. It was a good arrangement – the kids could get away with more and do less time, and the Tongs that controlled them could keep their aggression and violence channeled into profitable pursuits. </p><p>Chang handled office work, lending, laundering, and smuggling – smuggling being his highest earner. The counterfeit goods market was nearly as big as the drug market, and he liked that the feds didn’t care about it – he wasn’t trying to go to prison for life over some petty drug charges. </p><p>He knew a few people who managed heroin coming in through Toronto and it was always sold out and away from Chinatown to neighboring ethnic communities – partially because memories of the opium crisis drifted in the streets as ghosts of methadone-maintained, heroin addicted elders, and partially because it was too risky to have that going on on their own territory. If the feds even caught wind of drugs, they were on it and Chinatown tried to avoid that kind of attention. </p><p>The war on drugs had brutalized minority communities by criminalizing minor drug offenses, leveraging heavier sentencing against drugs used by the poor and desperate, and enforcing predatory policing. But gangs in Chinatown answered to the community bank-rolled Tongs, and despite the violence, aggression, and recklessness of the youths they had managed to be somehow <em> less </em> impacted. </p><p>Chang saw the whole machine click clack against itself like clockwork, and smirked at the futility of his own role in it. Was it better to launder the cash of distant drug, smuggling, and gambling operations or would it have been better to sink a couple hundred thousand dollars into debt to do the same for whiter institutions? </p><p>
  <em> What a joke. </em>
</p><p>It was 2015 and the economy felt like it was just barely sputtering back to life after years of despair following the Great Recession. The official story was that unemployment had begun dropping as early as 2009, but the families that lost their homes and retirement savings saw years of struggle before any valuable recovery. The banks had been bailed out and the poorest got poorer while the rich and criminal got a free pass. </p><p>He grimaced at the thought of graduating college into this economy with tens of thousands of dollars in student loans.The American federal government was not his choice loan shark. He was better off hawking his so-called ancient Chinese antiques to the random tourists who walked through the streets of Chinatown like it was some kind of zoo. </p><p>
  <em> There’s a price to pay for vulgarity, wonder what mine will be.  </em>
</p><p>He laughed to himself and thought of Ed who was probably still peacefully dozing off in his bed. He wished he had that kind of child-like wonder when it came to life. Ed was still going to pursue acting and he was fine with taking on part-time jobs to support it. His recent accident and recovery had shaken him significantly, and sometimes Chang could see the stress of his impending medical debt weighing on him, but the happy-go-lucky idiot had bounced back better than he’d expected. </p><p>He grimaced at the thought of the accident and the changes it had brought to their lives. Ed’s ankle was recovering slowly but he refused to take the opioids prescribed for his chronic pain. It had taken only one night of clutching his heart and panicking over an imaginary heart attack for Ed to disavow those completely. It saved them the cost of the prescription, but it meant that Chang now had to deal with marijuana smoke more often than he had ever planned for in what little he’d planned for his life. </p><p>And Ed was somehow touchier than before. He thought back to earlier in the day, when Ed had licked the back of his neck and filed it away in his folder of other such curious incidents. A lick here, a touch there, some weird rubbing against his face against his chest like some sort of big cat marking its territory, and recently a weird habit of hugging him to sleep. </p><p>
  <em> If he wasn’t a man, I’d seriously think he was hitting on me.  </em>
</p><p>Chang smirked at the thought before parking his car and shifting gears into business mode. He patted himself, checking for his wallet and his gun before making his way outside and into the elevator of the unassuming high-rise.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>In the novel, Ed thinks back to his entire childhood spent watching movies with Chang fairly often. They watched so many movies together that part of him wanting to become an actor had to do with his warm relationship with Chang – so I wanted to depict that.</p><p>Next, Ed smokes cigarettes and idk you tell me but no poor man with hella debt in America can afford a smoking habit. Let's look away. It's based in 2009 -18 and that was along the same time as lobbying for legalization of marijuana for medical purposes and I hardcore head canon pothead Ed. He acts like a damn pothead without the pot in canon : ' D lmfao. For now it's for pain. He's growin a little plant under Chang's bed. </p><p>Chang hates smoking and he's shown smoking in his introduction scene but Jaxx had to fix that for the Korean webtoon. She apologized abt it on Twitter but later deleted the tweet. </p><p>I think it makes sense that Chang would have chronic pain from his life threatening accident. No matter how young you are, getting throttled in a car leaves some physical injuries, so I kept that. </p><p>Also yall am I gonna get in trouble for dropping all this knowledge into a random fanfic abt gay boys, shit IDK. Also, if you want a song to go with this, listen to Cigarettes After Sex - Kiss It Off Me</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Let's You and Him Fight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Chang sits through an investor meeting with his boss.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The air-conditioning of the lobby cooled his skin as he walked past the reception, tapping a blank identification card against a small metal box to gain access to the elevator. </p><p>The elevator opened on the 24th floor, and Chang entered what looked like a simple coworking space. The decor was a haphazard mix of mid-century modern punctuated with plants in geometric pots and abstract paintings. </p><p>Airflow whirred silently from the high ceilings and the room lit itself as Chang moved through it, making his way to an executive style meeting room where he found Cho. </p><p>“Oh good, you’re here.” Chang motioned at Chang to sit down on an office chair next to his own. </p><p>“This doesn’t feel like the usual venue.” </p><p>Cho grinned at Chang. </p><p>“It does not.” </p><p>Chang sat in silence. He knew when to talk and he knew when his mouth was better off shut. It was a handy skill in dealing with Cho, whose moods flipped regularly between agitated, friendly, downright angry, affectionate, and business-like. He wasn’t sure a person on this Earth understood what went on in Cho’s head, but the man was still a genius businessman. Any success Chang had, he owed in a way to Cho. </p><p>Not long after Chang took a seat, two young Chinese men walked into the room.</p><p>“Welcome, welcome.” Cho stood up to shake hands and exchange pleasantries with the guests. </p><p>Chang stood up himself, and held out a hand to each man. “Chang.” </p><p>The men introduced themselves back before settling down in seats around the executive table. They quickly moved straight into business. This kind of meeting was rare. It was far more often that Chang found himself entertaining organization bigwigs in VIP back rooms in luxurious restaurants, but that was changing. It seemed to boil down to the growing influence of technological companies and startups—the kind of company as a gamble set-up that constantly needed funding, burned through cash, and could be your one-trick pony into millions of dollars of profit. </p><p>But Cho’s intention was not to speculate on tech. Though it may have seemed as if these young businessmen were approaching Cho for funding, everyone in the room understood that funding was not what was at stake at all. </p><p>This was your modern-day information arms deal, and the tech that was bought out would find its way quickly to China, where similar companies would create generic versions of the platform or product and sell it on the native market. Sometimes these companies spawned international competitors, other times, the success of one stolen product resulted in the innovation and creation of new and novel technologies. </p><p>The talk turned to the new innovations in cameras and video and how both hackers and legitimate-ish companies had started to gather extremely personal information about the comings and goings and conversations and thoughts of people. The guests thought that this was going to be the currency of the future – the personal information being used for purposes such as advertising and governmental surveillance. </p><p>Chang grimaced. <em>Government surveillance. </em></p><p>One of the men talked of how the real money was going to be in the government contracts. </p><p>Cho seemed to be taking it in stride so Chang continued sitting silently as the conversation wore on. By the end of it, Cho had promised to provide 2 million dollars in funding in exchange for an advisory role. </p><p>The implications of the deal were not lost on Chang. Somewhere in China, a surveillance system was well at work, rating citizens against their deeds and controlling their minute movements through the streets. It was still developing technology, but it was a reason he avoided traveling past Hong Kong. </p><p>He leaned back into his chair as the men left. </p><p>Cho turned to look at him. </p><p>“Gotta legitimize at some point, right?” </p><p>Chang scoffed. </p><p>“Right.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A good song note for this one is Big Sean's "I Don't Fuck With You" because that's how Chang is feeling as he sits and watches the meeting lmfao.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Kiss</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ed and Chang kiss, and Ed's hospital bills start coming in.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Back at his apartment, Ed answered the door with a dazed look on his face. Chang always rang the doorbell when he expected Ed to be home. It was partially to announce his presence and partially to see Ed answer the door like a big lazy dog he was babysitting. </p><p>“Hyung.” Ed looked like he’d woken just to answer the door. He smiled sleepily before launching himself into Chang’s arms. “My Hyung. Hello.” </p><p>“Mmm.” Chang pushed Ed gently to the side and took off his shoes, walking into his apartment as he loosened his tie and shed pieces of his suit. </p><p>Ed followed close behind, perching himself over Chang where Chang sat, resting his head on Chang’s shoulder. </p><p>“Why are you so touchy like this lately?” </p><p>“Hmmm?” Ed looked over, still slightly asleep. “Because I loooove youuuu.” </p><p>Ed smiled stupidly before closing his eyes and resting himself on Chang’s chest. </p><p>“What?” </p><p>“I LoooOOOoOoOVe You.” Came Ed’s response, in a ridiculously sing-songy tone. </p><p>Chang scoffed. He wrapped his arms around Ed’s body where he was leaning into him and laughed before giving him a light kiss in his hair.</p><p>“Who’s gonna love a big kid like you?” </p><p>Ed looked up at Chang and blew air at his face. </p><p>“My hyung.” He smiled widely. </p><p>Chang leaned his face down over Ed’s, leaving a soft kiss on Ed’s lips. It was done before he realized it, but he wasn’t surprised by it and he wasn’t going to take it back. </p><p>Ed, on the other hand, looked surprised, then sad. His daze, whether it had been real or pretend, was now broken, and he looked questioningly into Chang’s eyes. When there was no clear response, he took his free hand and pulled Chang back into the kiss. </p><p>His hand shook where it was placed on Chang’s face and his breath caught unevenly. Chang lifted his own hand to Ed’s, steadying it and deepening their kiss. </p><p>Moments passed, and then minutes as they kissed, unsurely at first and then with more certainty, their lips and tongues brushing against one another, enveloping both of them in the soft, safe feeling of home. </p><p>Ed broke the kiss first, breathing roughly and leaning his head back into Chang’s chest. He didn’t look up this time. </p><p>“Say it.” </p><p>There was a long pause. A pause long enough that Ed would have begun to cry if he couldn’t feel Chang squeezing his body ever so slightly more tightly. </p><p>“Mmm.” The reverberations of Chang’s voice hummed against his face. “I love you.” </p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>The mail came in slowly. One at a time, with different services split nonsensically into separate invoices. $1,500 for the ambulance that had taken him to the hospital. $11,000 for the surgery itself, but almost $1,000 a day for every day he’d spent in a hospital bed. </p><p>He didn’t have insurance. He hated to think about it in these terms, but his grandfather’s dialysis hadn’t been completely financially debilitating because he’d qualified for federal medical care. Ed, on the other hand, was not eligible for it and had not been paying $500 a month premium that another plan would have cost him. </p><p>Each letter brought with it a pang of anxiety, and it was the first time in the three months since his accident that he’d managed to open all of the letters and look at the contents. </p><p>All together, he owed just over $60,000. </p><p>He would never be able to pay this off. </p><p>After graduating high school, he hadn’t even enrolled in college because it seemed too expensive. Working full time, he barely made $400 a week. If he wasn’t living for free at Chang’s house, he would have had to be at Derek’s. He shuddered at what would become of him if neither of those possibilities had been available to him.  </p><p>He still had the laundromat he’d inherited in his grandfather’s will. It wasn’t paid off. It had cost about $200,000 to build, and the flow of income from it barely paid off its own loan. </p><p>He had just started crying because of the stress and impending doom when Chang walked into the room. </p><p>He rushed over quickly and cupped Ed’s face with his hand. “Why are you crying?” </p><p>Ed remained silent and used Chang’s proximity to cry into his chest, getting tears and slobber all over his shirt. </p><p>Chang looked over at the paperwork strewn across their coffee table. </p><p>“Oh.” The realization dawned on him. “So how much is it?” </p><p>“$60,000.” </p><p>Ed sniffled. </p><p>“I’ll never be able to pay it.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Tune in next chapter for a lesson in what poverty in America actually looks like, how to get out of medical debt, and a lesson from a loanshark, on loans :' ) </p><p>lmfao. No but for real. Make better financial decisions as a result of my fanfic, Please.</p><p>My song inspo for this chapter comes from Heavenly by Cigarettes After Sex (again ~).</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Loan Shark</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chang hugged Ed firmly until Ed stopped crying. This was a first, but he figured their make-out session from the other day changed things between them. Ed convulsed in his arms, his tears wetting Chang’s shirt. </p><p>When Ed calmed down and pushed away from him, Chang talked. </p><p>“You’re not going to pay it.” </p><p>“What?” </p><p>“You think I paid for my two month long hospital stay when I was 12?” </p><p>Ed looked at the floor and shrugged. “Yes… I thought you guys had the money.” </p><p>Chang laughed, almost manically.</p><p>“You came over all the time, you saw. We had <em> no </em> money.” </p><p>Ed hiccuped. </p><p>“How did you not pay it?” </p><p>“I called and told them I couldn’t.” </p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Yeah.” </p><p>“But that’s not going to work for me. I was thinking I would just put it on a credit card…”</p><p>Chang couldn’t stop himself from raising an eyebrow. </p><p>“The hell? Why would you do that?” </p><p>Ed shrugged. “I feel like I have to pay it immediately…” </p><p>“What?”</p><p>“I don’t know, having all of these bills is scary.” </p><p>Chang couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He was well aware of the fact that Ed wasn’t always knowledgeable about difficult things, but frustration crept slightly into his voice as he considered the disaster Ed was trying to set up for himself. </p><p>“You don’t even have a credit card…” </p><p>“But if I get one now–”</p><p>“It’ll have a high APR like 24%. Medical debt doesn’t accrue interest, credit card debt does. Why are you trying to grow your debt?” </p><p>“What?”</p><p>“With your income, if you put this on a credit card, it would grow to hundreds of thousands of dollars in a few years. You’d never be able to pay it.”</p><p>Ed was silent. </p><p>“Credit cards are compound interest and that means that anything you don’t pay off within the deadline is going to accrue interest and then the interest percentage would be applied to the principal PLUS interest amount.” </p><p>“I don’t get it.” </p><p>“And you wouldn’t even be able to get a $60,000 credit line – you don’t have any credit to show for it.” </p><p>Tears were beginning to pool at Ed’s eyes again. </p><p>“So how do I pay for it?” </p><p>Chang sighed. “Like I said, you don’t.” </p><p>“But that’s so bad.” </p><p>“No, it’s not.”</p><p>“How is it not bad?” </p><p>Chang looked over at a panicked Ed. He was going to be nice. </p><p>“Okay, time for a business lesson.”</p><p>Ed nodded.</p><p>“The hospital has a cost of doing business. That cost includes all of its staff, equipment, rent, utilities, and maintenance. The hospital factors all of that in and comes up with a base amount it would have to charge for services to stay in business.”</p><p>“Mmm.” This made sense to Ed. </p><p>“Then, they mark up all of those services by an arbitrary percentage, like 4000%, and charge people that. They have special contracts with certain insurance companies, where the insurance companies are charged less per service so customers have an incentive to have insurance. If you don’t have insurance, you get charged a higher rate, and you’re fucked.” </p><p>Chang laughed. </p><p>“In the business, this is what we call a racket.” </p><p>This made no sense to Ed. He got that it didn’t make sense. </p><p>“What does that have to do with me not having to pay?” </p><p>Chang’s grin widened. Ed could tell that he was possibly really passionate about this topic and it was creeping him out. </p><p>“So, you make $500 a week. The cost of living here is already beyond what you can afford. Rent costs $1300 for a closet somewhere. Realistically speaking, you shouldn’t even have enough to eat.” </p><p>The straightforward appraisal of his finances bothered Ed. “Wow when you put it like that…” </p><p>“But isn’t that about right? You’re 20, you barely have any resources. There’s no other way you could possibly be living, unless you came from money.” </p><p>“So they’ll let me off? Just like that?”</p><p>“Probably. Businesses can write off losses against profits and lower the taxes that they owe. You don’t pay, they get bigger tax write-offs on inflated service cost that they mark as losses, everybody wins.” </p><p>“What?” </p><p>“It’s called charity care.” Chang rolled his eyes, before mumbling to himself, “But it should be called tax-evasion… Just give them a call.”</p><p>Ed thought for a second. Something was bothering him. </p><p>“Oh yeah, but what about the laundromat? Can’t they take that?” </p><p>Chang laughed. </p><p>“I housed that in an LLC when he got it. It’s a business entity separate from you. Your personal loans don’t impact it, so don’t go about doing some stupid shit like selling it.” </p><p>“You and grandpa talked about that?” </p><p>Chang smirked at Ed slyly. </p><p>Ed picked up his cell phone, took a deep breath, and made the call. </p><p>Chang flipped open his laptop and browsed absentmindedly as Ed made his way through multiple operators and finally to the billing department. Chang was looking for a new apartment. After working for 7 years, it finally felt like he could move into a place that wasn’t downright disgusting. </p><p>He considered the number of bedrooms it needed to have. He figured two was the minimum, but he wanted an office space and somewhere to work out. </p><p>He was lost in his thoughts when Ed got off the phone and pounced on him. The laptop hit his chin before snapping shut. </p><p>“Ow, what the hell?” </p><p>Ed grinned at him happily. “Hehe.” </p><p>“What?”</p><p>“You were right.” </p><p>“Oh?”</p><p>“They wrote it off.” </p><p>“Completely?”</p><p>“Completely.” </p><p>Chang laughed lightly with Ed. Ed laid his head down on Chang’s chest as his laughter died down. </p><p>“What would I have done if they hadn’t written it off…” </p><p>Chang sighed.</p><p>“I would have paid it off.” </p><p>Ed found Chang’s hand and squeezed it. </p><p>“Why would you do that?” </p><p>“Because I’m <em> your </em> hyung.” </p><p>Ed looked up at Chang just as Chang looked down at him, the two pausing for a second before meeting each other’s lips for a kiss. It was a sweet kiss. Ed relaxed into Chang’s arms, the weight of the debt no longer troubling him, and Chang ran his arms up Ed’s back, holding him gently with one hand and running his hands through Ed’s hair with the other. </p><p>This time, Chang broke the kiss first. “The couch is uncomfortable.” </p><p>Ed buried his face into Chang’s clavicle. </p><p>“Carry me to bed, <em> my </em> hyung.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Some funny videos describing the healthcare thing:<br/>https://youtu.be/zkduyxN7GP4?t=284<br/>https://youtu.be/ka5WKfPSi3A</p><p>plot holes everywhereee, legit ed's hospital stay would be $465k base, forget loansharks, not necessary for the plot lmfao. hospitals are the Mo B.</p><p>Btw if you have no assets and no or low income you are effectively collection proof. As in no one can collect any money from you except for child support, taxes to the govt, or criminal offense fees. If you have an income like Ed does, you're collection proof up to 75% of your income and that's the Fed lookin out for ur ass against the hospitals and Chang daddies of this world.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Death by Strawberry</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ed thinks about his first night with Chang.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Ed lay in bed, staring out the third floor window of Chang’s bedroom. He had expected some sort of barrage of strong emotions, or maybe something like guilt, from his first time having sex with a man, but he just felt dazed. It was as if he’d gone at a hundred miles an hour and his feelings hadn’t caught up with reality just yet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’d been drifting in and out of sleep since the early morning, when Chang had woken up, given him a quick kiss on the forehead and unceremoniously gotten dressed and left for work. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He gives forehead kisses…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Ed had to laugh. He didn’t seem like he would. Or maybe he was exactly like the type that would. After all of these years, discovering new things about Chang was a curious feeling. Sharp like jealousy because he thought he knew everything—he prided himself on knowing everything—but tinged with the softness of affection because that’s how he felt about Chang. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tried to run a mental highlight reel of the events of the night before. He wanted to bask in the feelings a little longer. Chang’s lips on his bare skin had felt electric. The warm, wet scraping of his tongue against sensitive places… Ed’s mind jumped to the image of Chang with a condom on his fingers, prepping Ed for sex. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He flipped over and screamed into the pillow. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Fucking embarrassing. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He rubbed his head violently against the pillow, trying to erase his mental image of himself yelping and acting in all sorts of shameful ways. But then his mind’s eye shifted to Chang’s face as he focused intently on loosening Ed, his finger’s prodding, his eyes nervously looking for Ed’s reaction. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Fucking cute.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Ed grunted into the pillow. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m dead. </span>
  </em>
  
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Haha yall thought I would write smut... Eh I kinda knew I wouldn't. Give these boys their damn privacy. Yall know if you wanna read Chang x Ed smut, there are like 4 chapters of it in Slowdance on the Inside. You guys have all the snacks you need, this fic is abt somethin else. Kinda. </p><p>I mean I will write sexy bits, but I'm playing around with delivery a bit. </p><p>Lmfao the title of this chapter means nothing, but it works as a nonsensical reference to Strawberry Swisher Pt. 1 &amp; 2, by Dance Gavin Dance, which are both great songs for the mood of this chapter. Kek. </p><p>And Chang forehead kisses are "canon" but I don't speak of this scene in "canon" so goodbye.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. I'm Not a Monster</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ed and Chang contemplate breaking dish ware.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ed sat on the couch, violently angry. He was trying to stop himself from throwing the cup in his hand against the wall. He wanted to see it shatter and felt in his bones that it breaking into a million pieces would be the relief he needed, but he wasn’t a monster – or he was trying his best not to be one. </p><p>He considered punching the wall, or the sofa. He didn’t want to break either, this wasn’t his house. </p><p>
  <em> “It’s just a few shirtless shots.”  </em>
</p><p>The young blonde woman had had a blasé air about her, as if absolutely nothing was out of the ordinary about him showing up for a modeling gig and being asked to strip to his underwear in front of a group of men with cameras. </p><p><em> “This wasn’t in the contract.” </em> </p><p>He remembered himself raising his concerns, only to have them blithely brushed aside—as if he was the idiot for not wanting to do what he never agreed to. </p><p>
  <em> “Oh, contracts are more like guidelines around here. This is how we work with all of our actors. First, it’s a few pinup shots, and then we get a solo scene…”  </em>
</p><p>The impulse to grab this woman and shake her rose up within him. Again, he wasn’t a monster. Or he was trying not to be. </p><p><em> “Bitch, did I even agree to the pinups? I came because the agency sent me here. To model.” </em> Was what he’d wanted to say, but he’d been a little more polite. Or perhaps less. </p><p>
  <em> “I don’t remember agreeing to this, I’ll be taking my leave.”  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Oof, it really sucks how some models really aren’t very easy to work with...”  </em>
</p><p>Ed grimaced as he remembered the blonde man. The implication was obvious – Ed had to do it, or he’d be blackballed. He knew about this. It happened to female actors all of the time but somehow he just hadn’t expected it to happen to him. </p><p>This was a production agency based out of Brooklyn, but it had turned out to be a thinly veiled excuse for a pornography operation. He’d heard whispers of these kinds of companies. They were run out of people’s homes and apartments and they produced niche porn that did well against the established industry glam of the California porn scene. </p><p>The only thing was that it was illegal to shoot porn in New York. In New York, soliciting actors for porn was considered as no different from soliciting them for prostitution, and the same laws applied. Or so it should have been, but plenty of people ignored the specifics of the legalities. It wasn’t as if the cops were going to show up and bust a few people making amateur videos out of their apartment—but this was brazen. </p><p>They were shooting something called <em> 99 Asian Boy Express </em>and Ed wasn’t keen on finding out what an Asian Boy Express was supposed to be. </p><p>The men had leered at him, and the position he was in had been uncomfortable. It was hard to turn people down to their faces, and even harder when it might mean future difficulties for his career. </p><p>Or it might have been difficult, for some people. Ed grew up with a special type of hardass though, so he was out the door the moment these assholes brought up anything about being difficult to work with. And he’d accidentally “tripped” over and destroyed a tripod set up on his way out. </p><p>But it wasn’t enough, and the mix of adrenalin, testosterone, and dopamine crashing through his veins meant that he was going to formulate a plan for certain revenge. </p><p>“Liu~.” The sing-songy voice that came out was disconcerting in its mix of pleasant, but stone-cold rage. </p><p>“Did someone take your sandwich?” Chang knew better than to laugh outwardly. He’d done his fair share of play-fighting and real fighting with Ed, but he'd only ever seen this look when someone had truly crossed a line. </p><p>“Something like that.” Ed stared straight at a wall. “How much do I pay you to kill someone?” </p><p>Chang guffawed despite himself. </p><p>“I don’t kill people… I’m too smart for jail.” </p><p>“I need you to kill someone for me.” </p><p>“I’ll consider it.” Chang smirked. “Maybe tell me what happened?” </p><p>...</p><p>This time Chang sat in his chair, clutching at the fork he’d been using to pick at his dinner. He wondered if the dish might break if he scraped the fork against it hard enough. </p><p>“So he tried to make a porno of you?” </p><p>Ed was still staring at the wall. His jaw was clenched and a vein was popping slightly in his neck. </p><p>“Yes.” </p><p>Chang scraped his fork against the plate. He couldn’t stop himself. He was a monster. </p><p>“I’ll take care of it. Ask me about it at the end of the week.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Who in this wild world thinks Chang would ever let Glenn live after Glenn shot a porno of the love of his life? I've seen gangsters catch cases over much less. Lmfao. The upper echelon of a lot of crime orgs usually keep their hands clean, but like you really don't go about messing with their women/lovers unless you're trying to be found dead somewhere... Where is the common sense LOL</p><p>For canon, I see Chang having at least stabbed the man, if not having had his knees and ankles broken. Shooting up his house/building would be an option too... He's in a gang... He's a gangster. He's gonna act like one........ lmfao. </p><p>That aside, it's totally illegal to shoot porn in New York and in fact most of the United States. California and to a lesser extent Nevada are the only ones that have loopholes that act as precedence for legality. Apparently McQueen Entertainment is the Walmart of porn companies (that's how it was referenced in the novel), so there's no way it could exist in Manhattan legally lmfao. Just adding the info because that impacts *what* kind of porn scene exists in NY, and it's not the glitz and glam mainstream scene of CA. </p><p>BTW porn industry is infamous for breaking contract as the first thing that happens on a set. It's a form of workplace harassment but it's just part of the deal. Terrible. </p><p>Next time on Sin With a Grin, how will Chang exact revenge?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Is It Gay to Kiss Your Homies?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ed and Chang watch movies, destroy Glenn's studio, etc.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Why are we watching this?" </p><p>Chang sat on his new couch. He harbored a slight resentment toward it because he'd thought letting Ed pick would be cute. Ed had proven himself to be a more discerning shopper than he'd previously known. Perhaps it was the new budget or the excitement over a new home, but Ed had gone around the store pressing his hand down into every couch, watching the foam firm back up, and then plopping down here and there on the couches that passed whatever odd standard for foam resilience that he'd set up in his mind. </p><p>It had taken them eight hours over two days to pick the damn thing, and now sitting on it summoned that same flurry of mild annoyance, unbearable impatience, and total resignation. He was defeated; and in more ways than one considering that he was now sitting around and wasting his weekend on a screening of <em>She's All That</em>. The lead role was played by Freddy from Scooby Doo and he knew that also because of Ed. </p><p>"Shhh." Ed hissed back. </p><p>Chang knew why they were watching this. Ed had an audition because some local sociopath decided that it should get a theater run, and now they had to study the film. Together, because it was a thing. Apparently. </p><p>Ed shifted in his seat, adjusting uncomfortably against Chang's chest. It was awkward for two grown men to sit on a couch in what was ostensibly a back hug, but anytime Chang tried to move, Ed shifted back against him. </p><p>
  <em>Defeat.</em>
</p><p>Focusing his attention back on the movie, he caught a red heel taking a step down a carpeted and wooden staircase. </p><p>
  <em>Carpeted and wooden? Odd choices all around...</em>
</p><p>"<em>Swing, swing, swing that spinning step. You'll wear those shoes and I will wear that dress... Oh... Kiss me." </em></p><p>This was the kind of romantic overture he expected for this type movie. </p><p>Chang was just about to smirk at himself when Ed turned to him with small tears pooled at the corners of his eyes. </p><p>"Hyung."</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"It's so cute." </p><p>Chang scoffed. </p><p>"Liu." </p><p>Ed leaned his face closer to Chang's. </p><p>"Is it... gay... to ask to kiss right now?" </p><p>"It... is gay for us to kiss."</p><p>Ed broke eye contact and looked back towards the movie. </p><p>"You know what I meant." </p><p>Chang lifted a hand and held Ed's chin between two fingers, gently moving his face back towards his own before leaning down for a soft, lingering kiss. He smiled slightly into Ed's lips despite himself. </p><p>
  <em>Cute.</em>
</p><p>...</p><p>
  <em>"For English, press 1 or stay on the line. Para Español oprima dos. If you would like to learn more about property protection services, car services, or health insurance services, press 3. If you would like to know the status of a claim, press 4. If you would like to start a new claim, please visit our website at www..." </em>
</p><p>Glenn McQueen threw his phone against the wall. </p><p>
  <em>Fuck.</em>
</p><p>Now his phone was also cracked. </p><p>He'd tried to reach his insurance agent through their website, but couldn't find a link to email or chat with anyone, and when he'd finally found a phone number it was impossible to submit a claim. Why was this so difficult? </p><p>He clenched his jaw and grit his teeth. He'd walked into the studio early in the morning to find three men with bats waiting for him. He'd tried to make a beeline for the door but a big, burly man had blocked his way. He knew his occupation had the potential to get him in trouble, but he hadn't suspected this kind of trouble. He always imagined some scorned actor with a knife, but this was a little ... more than that. </p><p>A young suited man had sat back in a studio chair. Some kind of Asian. </p><p>"Nice studio you had going here." </p><p>Glenn had remained silent. </p><p>"I suppose you can guess why this is happening." </p><p>A few more moments of silence passed. The man stood up, picking up a bat as he walked towards him.</p><p>"Or are you saying you don't know?" </p><p>Glenn grunted. </p><p>"I can guess." </p><p>"Good." The man smirked. "I like an intelligent man." </p><p>He had lifted the bat and swung it at Glenn, stopping right in front of his face. </p><p>"Count your blessings this isn't my territory." </p><p>There was going to be no explanation for the destruction that followed. Glenn himself was spared, but he knew not to report this kind of thing to law enforcement because then he could count on breaking a bone or three. Or getting shot. He didn't want to think about it. </p><p>He heaved a heavy sigh. </p><p>
  <em>Fuck.</em>
</p><p>He was going to have to figure out how to make sure none of his actors were affiliated. He wasn't an idiot and he only took advantage of people who had no recourse. One bad decision to try to cast an Asian and now he was down $70,000 in damages. </p><p>
  <em>Fuck. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>...</em>
</p><p>The TV screen rolled credits; the movie had ended without anyone having paid attention to anything past the suspenseful descent down the stairs. Ed's shirt lay in a heap on the floor and Chang's was dangling precariously off of the sofa's arm.</p><p>It didn't matter where the clothes were, or that the movie had rolled past the credits and the TV had fallen asleep. All Ed was interested in was the bulge in Chang's pants hardening against the brush of his fingers, and the warmth spreading through his body from the feeling of Chang's tongue in his mouth. </p><p>He broke their kiss to take a few breaths. </p><p>"On the new couch?"</p><p>Chang ran his tongue up Ed's exposed neck, heading back downward to nibble his clavicle. </p><p>"Yeah." He looked up at Ed and grinned a sleazy grin. "It owes me for the 8 hours you spent picking it out." </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Nnn as much as I'd like to have had Chang do physical damage to McQueen, technically the man has too much to lose if he's messing around with folks outside of Chinatown. He's got his cute little life with Ed so he's just not got the motivation to next level fuck shit up (get some police investigations going on him, etc). Different story if he didn't have that I feel. </p><p>I enjoy writing Ed and Chang being homo bros. All of my homies independently came to the conclusion that Ed reads like a lovable idiot in terms of who he would be if he actually grew up with us. Some stand out comments have been: </p><p>"Ed's a very familiar character to me. He strikes me as a low class tough. I see him wearing Timberlands and a puffer jacket. Some kind of Yankees hat." </p><p>"You made Chang buy tech companies... you made him evil evil??? Poor sweet Ed boy..." </p><p>@ this ch &gt;</p><p>"lol.<br/>*Chang sitting through Ed running through lines trying to spreadsheet*<br/>C: "Babe, this needs to get done by 6"<br/>E: "I don't feel like you're giving me constructive feedback""</p><p>- (friend, 33 y/o straight male loL)</p><p>"Ed just thinking about what his next sandwich is going to be." </p><p>"Feel like he's gonna stop smoking weed but only because he can't remember any lines when he smokes." </p><p>"He seems like he has to eat a lot of sandwiches to keep his lifting gains. Feel like he poked fun at Chang for not working out and then got clean and jerked by him." </p><p>I am the one who envisioned Ed with the snap back and the weed and the slurpee. Eventually I drew a kappa version of Ed where he's smoking a cucumber. Look quarantine has gotten long. </p><p>Then we found a sandwich graphic (unrelated) but ended up discussing which sandwiches Ed fucks with and which he doesn't. Personally, I think they'd have to be handing back and forth banh mi because it's Chinatown and there should be like 8 of those shops and those things are cheap and so good o m g i want one it's 5:21am. </p><p>Anyway point is like everyone loves sweet Eddie so much and idk where we all get this image of him but just hold sweet boy and feed him.</p><p>also in this video, this dude hits the other dude's car with a bat and so the dude just runs him over. Welcome to New York CiTy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx4Gm5B-xrY</p><p>Reminded me of that scene where Glenn kicks Chang's car and Chang gets out of the car... lmfao please. Also the fact that they had bats and knives on the ready I was laughing more than I should. No one died but some people are going to jail :(</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Homecoming</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>:)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>"He's an odd child, isn't he? He keeps to himself. I'm not sure if he's arrogant or shy..." </em>
</p><p>The movie rolled lazily in the darkness of the new apartment. Chang's whims were mysterious, but Ed lay there without questioning it. He was still naked and had propped his head on Chang's chest so he could half watch the TV. After they'd finished christening the new couch, instead of heading to bed, Chang had pulled out a blanket and put in a movie. </p><p>
  <em>Ah, it's this movie again. </em>
</p><p>Chang was watching <em>Ashes of Time</em> again.</p><p>A beautiful woman stared out of a window, tapping her fingers wistfully against the windowsill. </p><p>
  <em>"He never asks for what he wants. You have to give it to him... At first I indulged him, but then I lost patience." </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I always thought you two would stay together."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"He never told me he loved me."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Some things don't need to be said." </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"It's what I needed to hear..." </em>
</p><p>Ed was beginning to fall asleep. The movie was slow paced, the visuals lulled him into a soft daze, and the mysterious chronology mesmerized him. He hovered softly in a state somewhere between reality and dreams.</p><p>"Why are we watching this again?" </p><p>There was no response. </p><p>
  <em>"Do you know what's the most important thing in my life right now?" </em>
</p><p>Ed had drifted into a light sleep, but woke to Chang adjusting their position.</p><p>
  <em>"...Nothing really matters anymore. I used to think that some words were so important... That once spoken, they'd last a lifetime. But looking back I realized it makes no difference. Everything changes..." </em>
</p><p>Chang tapped the fingers he had rested lazily in the small of Ed's back, <em>tap, tap, tap.</em></p><p>"Is this why you told me you loved me?"</p><p>The response to Ed's earlier question hung in the air. The movie continued to roll. Ed laughed. </p><p>"Was I supposed to let you say it?" </p><p>This time Chang laughed. </p><p>"I would have never said it." </p><p>"I know." </p><p>"I didn't even know it." </p><p>"I know." </p><p>The movie continued rolling in the silence between them. </p><p>
  <em>"I used to think I was the winner in love, until one day I looked in the mirror and saw the face of a loser. And during the best years of my life, the person I love wasn't by my side."</em>
</p><p>"Or maybe I did." </p><p>Ed laughed again. </p><p>"I know." </p><p>The desert faded into a new time card. </p><p>
  <em>"Spring Returns." </em>
</p><p>The male lead sat waiting for the return of his friend but received a letter bearing news of his lover's passing instead. She had spent her life waiting for his return, and he his waiting for news about her. He sat stunned, waiting two days and two nights for his friend's arrival, but he knew the man would never come back. </p><p>
  <em>"Fate made me an orphan. My parents died young. My brother raised me. Being an orphan, I always had to fend for myself. I learned the best way to avoid rejection is to reject others first." </em>
</p><p>Ed glanced sideways to Chang, who'd raised himself and Ed along the way. It wasn't the woman's regrets that had pushed him to say it out loud. </p><p>
  <em>"When I wasn't busy I looked in the direction of White Camel Mountain. I remembered there was a woman waiting for me there. That magic wine was just a joke she played on me. The more you try to forget, the better you'll remember... People say... That when you can't have what you want, the best you can do is... not to forget." </em>
</p><p>The movie rolled into an epilogue, and Chang flicked the TV off with his remote. The slow rising and falling of his chest began to lull Ed back into a lazy sleep.</p><p>"I watched it again to take back my promise." </p><p>Ed drooled on Chang, still half asleep.</p><p>"Take back your promise?" </p><p>"I don't know." </p><p>"You don't want to tell me." </p><p>"I promised..." Chang's voice quivered ever so slightly. "Well when I watched it the first time, anyway... I promised to never forget." </p><p>Ed was suddenly wide awake and felt like he was biting back tears. </p><p>"What's wrong with you." </p><p>Chang was silent. </p><p>"Why are you like this?" Ed lifted himself up and glared into Chang's eyes. "You think this movie is about you?" </p><p>Chang broke eye contact, looking into a corner of the room instead. </p><p>"Maybe like a past life..." </p><p>"ShuT UP." Ed nuzzled his head against Chang. "Don't ever make me follow you into a desert, cuz I'll come but I'm gonna be pissed." </p><p>Chang had to laugh. The laughter choked in his constricted throat. </p><p>"I watched it again to thank it for the lesson." </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I... started with Ashes of Time and ended with Ashes of Time, which, if you watch Ashes of Time, is kind of poetic. Bro I think Chang and Ed's arc is tightly (not loosely) based off of Ouyeng Feng's love story. Ouyang Feng is literally Chang. Like the similarities are 200 too many, and also the fact that I'm Pretty sure Chang was watching this movie in canon novel, and also the parallels to WOW's displeasure with Chang's character (Ed's literally like "why did u never say u loved me u ho" and Chang is like "yo I can't say that shit so easily, everyone i love dies and the only way i know not to hurt is to push ppl away"). </p><p>I was so happy that the Ashes of Time film had much better internal emotional logic, in the sense that the characters understand each other regardless of what's left said or unsaid (kind of like normal human beings), and that focusing on the need to say it out/hear it is both pride and the downfall. God Bless. It's so normal, it cured my whiplash from wow. </p><p>Anyway, this chapter may or may not be legible to folks, but I'm not changing it because it's another one of those came to me at 2am type things. Also I accidentally reproduced Ashes of Time's weird ass chronological structure in this fic but entirely on accident because I just wrote like an oracle again lmfao and didn't plan this out. </p><p>Ok, let's mark this finished and if any more fluff or smut comes to me, I'll update here or maybe in B-Sides. There might be more, there might not.</p>
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